After reviewing the police ‘facts sheet’, we negotiated a number of significant amendments which reflected what actually occurred on the evening – including that there was one strike with an open hand after the escalation of an argument.

We assisted our client to gather subjective material including character references from the United States and a letter of apology to the court.

It was particularly important that he not to receive a criminal conviction, as his employment requires him to frequently travel to other countries.

We made detailed submissions in court about the circumstances leading up to the incident, and our client’s subjective features including his work with young people in the community and his need to remain conviction free.

The magistrate ultimately accepted our submissions and exercised her discretion not to impose a criminal conviction.